Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has expressed Iran’s solidarity with Cuba in the face of illegal sanctions imposed by the United States on the Latin American country.

According to The Iran Project, Araghchi made the remarks during a meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez in New York on Saturday.

The top Iranian diplomat condemned the US Congress’s unilateral and political move to put Cuba on a list of the so-called state sponsors of terrorism, saying the measure is the continuation of Washington’s hostile policies.

“As one of the victims of US sanctions, Iran fully understands the conditions of the Cuban people and supports the country against US bans,” he added.

Also in his remarks, Araghchi said that the crimes that Israel is committing in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon are acts of desperation caused by the regime’s failure in its genocidal war on the besieged Gaza.

He further renewed an invitation by Iran’s former President Ebrahim Raeisi for his Cuban counterpart to visit Iran and voiced Tehran’s readiness to expand relations with Havana in all fields.

Rodriguez welcomed the development of Iran-Cuba ties in the economic, academic and scientific areas, and the holding of a joint economic commission in the near future.

He also emphasized that Cuba backs the Islamic Republic against hostile US policies.

Iran and Cub, which are both subject to unjust US sanctions, have historically maintained close relations and stood by each other in challenges posed by Washington’s unilateralism.

The meeting between the Iranian Cuban foreign ministers took place in New York on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.